2024 Home Run Derby: Participants, how to watch, start time

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Eight players will make up the 2024 Home Run Derby contest. So far, only one player has officially joined the fray.

Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson is the first to announce he will be taking part in the 2024 derby.

The current MLB HR leader, Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) has said that he will not be participating in this year’s Home Run Derby. He has not participated in the Derby since winning it in 2017.

Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani expressed interest to reporters in a possible return to the Home Run Derby.

“I have to get an offer first. I’m also rehabilitating, so I need the doctor’s approval and the trainers’ approval and the team’s approval,” Ohtani said, per the Los Angeles Times. “Of course, I have feelings of wanting to do it. I think any player would. I think it depends on how it lines up with the other parts.”

But Ohtani had major elbow surgery in September, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed caution about the idea of Ohtani taking so many repetitive swings as he heals from the second torn UCL in his six-year MLB career.

What’s the format for the 2024 Home Run Derby?

Last year, the Home Run Derby featured a single elimination eight person bracket. Players were seeded 1 to 8 based on their regular season home runs for 2023.

This year, the knockout round won’t come until the semifinals. Instead, the opening round of the derby will feature all eight hitters competing, and the top four performers will advance to the semifinals. Players will then be seeded based on their home runs in the first round.

The longest home run will be used as a first round tiebreaker.

There will also be a new pitch limit this year. Last year, pitchers could essentially throw as many pitches to the batter in their allowed time per round, but each round will end after a maximum number of pitches or when the allowed time runs out.

Other rules include:

• The first two rounds of the derby will last three minutes, and the final round will last two minutes.
• Each batter gets one 45-second timeout, but they can’t be used during bonus periods.
• Ties in the semifinals or finals result in a 60-second swing-off.

Who won the 2023 MLB Home Run Derby?

Below are the participants from last year’s derby:

• Luis Robert, OF, Chicago White Sox
• Adley Rutschman, C, Baltimore Orioles
• Pete Alonso, 1B, New York Mets
• Julio Rodríguez, OF, Seattle Mariners
• Mookie Betts, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Toronto Blue Jays
• Adolis García, OF, Texas Rangers
• Randy Arozarena, OF, Tampa Bay Rays

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. brought home the derby crown with 25 home runs in the finals. He defeated Randy Arozarena who had 23.

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